Under A Tree
by Sonic Sparkle
Summary: Who can free Harry from himself, if only for a while? A short, fluffy HHr ficlet. Disclaimer: Not mine! Characters owned by J.K. Rowling.


Harry sat under the tree, staring into the lake. Small ripples were dancing across its surface, a gentle breeze, almost like a relaxed sigh breathed though Harry's unruly hair; causing tendrils to tickle his cheeks.  
  
It was a bright, sunny, typical mid-September day on the Hogwarts grounds. Harry could see students sitting together on the far side of the lake, drinking pumpkin juice while doing their first homework of the year. He could see Hagrid outside his cabin with Fang in the distance, probably sorting out the plans for his next lesson. The odd owl glided overhead, hooting happily as the birds sang in the forest behind Harry. Everything was so peaceful and serene, except the thoughts in Harry's head.  
  
His gloomy gaze returned to the surface of the lake, glaring into its dark depths as he sat in the shadow of the tree. There was no one on this side of the lake, the far side from the school, and Harry knew he was hard to see in his black cloak, covered in the shade of the forest.  
  
He shut his eyes heavily, a painful pounding behind them making him feel sick. He felt so alone, so separated from the rest of the world as if he were on the other side of a glass divide, so near and yet so far. He knew he had been withdrawn since he'd started his sixth year, he knew his friends had noticed; but trying to keep from falling into the well of despair in his heart was like holding onto a greased rope, near impossible and failing more with each passing second. He felt a lone tear slide from under his closed eyelid and slide down his cheek, wishing, not for the first time, that he had fallen through the veil with Sirius; died with Sirius. He knew he would never be able to face Voldemort with a chance of defeating him, no matter what Dumbledore had said. He could run, escape, he knew that. But that was all he was good for.  
  
A lone laugh reached Harry's ears from across the steely expanse of water and he opened his eyes. He swept his sleeve across his face and hugged his knees, resting his chin on top. He knew the other students would be off to class soon, but he didn't think he could get up and face it, maybe he'd just stay here until someone came to find him. The sun slowly moved overheard, but to Harry it was covered by the black clouds in his mind. His eyes were closed again, losing him in a world of death and fear, more tears running down his cheeks, wetting his cloak.  
  
"Harry?" Harry didn't even open his eyes or move; he knew Hermione would have guessed where she could find him.  
  
"Harry." She repeated softly. He opened his eyes and glanced to his right, where she had knelt down beside him, a concerned expression creasing her features. "Why are you crying?" Harry still didn't say anything, just slowly lifted his cloak covered hand and wiped both his cheeks gingerly. "Is it Sirius?" She probed. He shot her an annoyed look and then cut his eyes away, looking back towards the castle. "Oh come on!" She snapped. He spun his head back round to look at her, shocked out of his misery. "You have to talk about it sooner or later, you can't just sit out here moping all the time!"  
  
"Don't presume what I have to do Hermione" he retorted, shocked at the harshness of his own voice.  
  
"Someone has to make you see sense!" She yelled back at him.  
  
"Oh and that someone is you right? I should have known, Miss Know-It-All can't resist coming to stick her nose into poor tragic Harry's problems, because of course she can solve them!" He shouted right back, suddenly finding himself on his feet, fists clenched in anger. She stood up too.  
  
"You're not the only one that's ever had problems, Harry. Your friends are there to help you through them, but sorry if I'm just sticking my nose in" Harry sighed and turned away, his anger evaporating into overwhelming weariness.  
  
"You could never understand Hermione, no one could."  
  
"Well you could at least try me! You've been locking yourself up, disappearing for hours at a time. You're obviously not helping yourself. Please let me try to help you." She reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You're not alone."  
  
Harry raised his green eyes to meet hers, allowing her for the first time to see the pain and suffering in them. He watched her eyes fill with tears and reached up to take her hand from his shoulder, squeezing it gently and giving her a small smile. She threw both arms around his neck at that gesture, burying her face in his shoulder and hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, marvelling that he didn't feel awkward, resting his head against hers. They stood there for a while, happy to feel close again after Harry's behaviour of the past couple of weeks. Harry lifted a hand from her back and stroked her hair softly, curling it around his fingers at the ends. At this, Hermione drew back and looked into his eyes, a confused expression crossing her face before she smiled in delight to see the dark cloud lifting from his face. She gently placed a hand on his cheek, her fingertips resting in his silky hair.  
  
"So does this mean we get you back?" She asked delicately.  
  
"I never really left" he whispered, gazing into her eyes. She swallowed nervously, the intensity of his gaze doing something to her stomach that she had never felt before. She felt like she was floating on a wayward breeze, giddy and breathless like a small child as she gazed right back at him. She was suddenly all too aware of how close they were, pressed up against one another so that not even air could pass between them. But what was really taking her breath away were his eyes, and the strong desire she then realised she had for him. She couldn't even begin to imagine where that had come from.  
  
Harry felt like he'd been hit by a steam train, completely losing himself in the depths of her eyes. He felt so confused about everything, everything apart from this, he would die without this. Ever so slowly, he brought his hand underneath her chin and tilted her head further up to face his. She hardly felt the pressure, instinctively reaching out for him as he finally sealed his mouth over hers.  
  
It was so soft, so tentative, but it sent a pleasant tingle all the way down Hermione's spine. She felt herself trembling as she ran her hand through his hair, the other arm hooked around his neck to keep herself upright as she kissed him back. She felt like she was melting, turning into liquid with the pleasure and her knees almost buckled. She gasped quietly into his mouth, eliciting a chuckle from him as he slid his tongue into her mouth, tasting sweet, like strawberries and cream. She deepened the kiss even further and he moaned with pleasure, nothing soft or gentle about it any more as he plunged his fingers into her hair and she ran her hand down his chest.  
  
Hermione was ecstatic, she'd only wanted to get her friend back but instead she'd released all these feelings she hadn't even realised she'd had inside, and she'd seemed to have given him some emotion back as well; an emotion that he was sharing with her.  
  
Eventually they had to pull back, gasping for air. Harry was shocked and scared, knowing that this was showing in his eyes, but Hermione just smiled.  
  
"Wow" she whispered, grinning. "Where did that come from?" He smiled, the first smile she'd seen from him in a long time, and she melted.  
  
"I don't know" he whispered back "but I don't want it to go away"  
  
"Me neither" she replied, and his eyes lit up. "You still have a lot to tell me though."  
  
"I know." He softly kissed her lips again and took her hand, leading her back up to the castle. "I know." 


End file.
